Agenda

Living Local: Joining God

Introductory Meeting of the Clergy Learning Cohort

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Waterville, Maine

March 17, 2017

2:00 – 4:30 p.m.

2:00 - 2:10Welcome and Orientation to Meeting

2:10 - 2:40 Dwelling in the Word

2:40 - 3:10Overview

  • Introduction of Clergy Learning Community
  • Discussion of Meeting Schedule and Expectations
  • Review of 5 Step Process
  • Clergy Activities during Each Step

3:10 - 3:30What is a Clergy Learning Community?

3:30 - 4:00The Guiding Team and Guiding Team Interviews

4:00 - 4:20Neighborhood Walks or Observation/Listening Locations

4:20 - 4:30Wrap Up, Next Steps, Next Meeting

Meeting Dates

Conference call proposed for week of May 1-5

May 20 Training Day

DwellingintheWord

Luke 10:1-12

1.WhatisDwellingintheWord?

□Use of Scripture

□Processofdiscernmenttogether

□Non-professionalization

2.Lectio

□Ancient practice

□Work of the people

□Practices as key to transformation of culture

□Cultivation a different imagination

3.Listeningoneanotherintofreespeech

□Narrativeasessentialfordiscernment

□Listeningtotheother to learn

□Listening the otherintofreespeech - acriticalfirststepininnovating change

4.WhyLuke10:1-12?

□Introduces the horizons of “outside in” and “bottom up”

□Reorients our focus of being hosted by the other

□Threequestions that help to expand imaginations and invite curiosity around the Spirit’s movement:

  • Where do you find yourself stopping or being caught in this text?
  • How was your imagination engaged by this text—words, phrases, or ideas?
  • In what ways might the Spirit of God might be speaking to you, to us, to our congregation?

5.Whydowealwaysusethesametext?

The Text (Luke 10:1-12)

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

The Questions:

  1. Where do you find yourself stopping or being caught in this text?
  2. How was your imagination engaged by this text—words, phrases, or ideas?
  3. In what ways might the Spirit of God might be speaking to you, to us, to our congregation?

Note: Over time, you are encouraged to use different versions of this text.

Living Local: Joining God

Overview of the Clergy Learning Cohort

  1. Introduction
  2. Reviewing Living Local: Joining God
  3. The 5 Steps of the Process
  4. Listening to Learn
  5. Reflecting and Discerning
  6. New Behaviors
  7. Reflecting & Deciding
  8. Clergy Learning Community
  1. Dwelling in the Word
  2. Rationale
  3. Text
  4. Reflection on Dwelling process
  1. Addressing three primary relationships
  2. With the Guiding Team and Congregation
  3. With follow Clergy
  4. With the Diocese Team and Diocese
  1. Reviewing Roles
  2. GT Role
  3. Diocese Role
  4. Coaches Role
  5. Consultant Role
  6. Clergy Role
  1. Set CLC meeting schedule

Overview of 5 Step Process

Living Local: Joining God for Congregations

Key Question: How do we go on a shared journey in discerning what the Spirit is doing ahead of us in our neighborhoods and communities in order to join God in those places?

Time Table

Step 1: Listening to Learn

January – May 2017

●Congregations practice listening to God, one another and their neighborhoods.

Step 2: Reflecting and Discerning

June – September 2017

●Listening work is brought together from each congregation. Congregations are assisted in identifying and shaping a series of new behaviors.

Step 3: New Behaviors—Behaving Our Way into New Thinking

October 2017 – June 2018

●Engaging in new behaviors takes place across all the congregations.

Step 4 and 5: Reflecting and Deciding

July - December 2018

●Congregations:

oIdentify the learning develop through implementing the new behaviors

oIdentify what ‘next step’ actions are needed

oContinue to identify new behaviors in which to engage

Clergy Activities During Each Step

Step 1: LISTENING to LEARN
As part of the Clergy Learning Community:
  • Identify common ways to support the work of your GT and congregation in the process.
  • Engage the Guiding Team members through an interview process.
  • Do your own neighborhood observing/listening work.
  • Begin to reflect on this process biblically and theologically.
  • Engage in shared spiritual practices.
  • Begin initial reflection on your GT listening interviews.

Step 2: REFLECTING and DISCERNING
In your Clergy Learning Community:
  • Identify one or two key leadership challenges based on the interviews conducted with GT members.
  • Reflect together on your interview learning to identify common and specific themes.
  • Reflect upon your neighborhood observation/listening.
  • Identify several possible new behaviors you might try in order to address your leadership challenges.
  • Help create the “opportunity” for GT to share their summary listening report with the vestry and congregation.
  • Continue to reflect on this process biblically and theologically and share some of these reflections with the GT, vestry, and congregation.
  • Continue engagement in shared spiritual practices.

Step 3: NEW BEHAVIORS
In your Clergy Learning Community:
  • Implement initial new behaviors named in Step 2.
  • Reflect on what you learned from your new behaviors.
  • Focus further the leadership challenges you are facing and continue to refine your new behaviors as well as design and implement additional new behaviors as needed to address your leadership challenges.
  • Continue to create “opportunities” for GT to share their work with the vestry and congregation.
  • Design what as well as how to communicate your leadership learning to the vestry and congregation.
  • Continue to reflect on this process biblically and theologically and share some of these reflections with the GT, vestry, and congregation.
  • Continue engagement in shared spiritual practices.

Steps 4 and 5: REFLECTING & DECIDING
In your Clergy Learning Community:
  • Reflect further onyour new behaviors in terms of what you are learning.
  • Reflect upon your observation/listening in neighborhood engagement; both your own and those that your guiding team has done.
  • Identify the biblical and theological implications of your learning for your leadership in the congregation.
  • On the basis of this learning, name the ‘next step’ actions you will take.
  • Decide together what you will report to the diocese in terms of implications for the formation and development of clergy.

What is a Clergy Learning Community?

A Clergy Learning Community is one that learns by doing and from one another. It is not a peer support group, nor is it a “classroom” where content is delivered. Instead, a Clergy Learning Community focuses on action-based learning.

  1. Common focus

We will address the common question: What are the skills and capacities I need to assist my Guiding Team and congregation in taking a journey to discern what God is doing in their local context and joining with God there?

  1. Action-oriented

The Clergy Learning Community is focused on developing a set of practical specific, accountable actions each can take during this process.

  1. Actively collaborate

Assist each other to frame action plans and provide support on the journey.

  1. Atmosphere of accountability and trust

Accountability assists us in achieving shared commitments and cultivating trust.

  1. Diversity of perspectives

We will deepen our understanding by welcoming a range of perspectives in the group.

  1. Guided process

The Clergy Learning Community is guided by a facilitator who encourages reflection among the group.

  1. Focus on learning by doing

Focused on action learning in order to develop new practices and behaviors.

The Guiding Team

The Guiding Team leads the overall process in your congregation.

  1. Each Guiding Team works with an external coach who assists them along every step of the journey.
  2. Comprised of lay people but not clergy. When clergy are members, invariably, the team defaults to their expertise or advice and the process ceases to be genuinely lay-based.
  3. The pastor is welcome to meet with the Guiding Team from time to time outside of its regular planning meetings for information about and coordination of the process in the life of the congregation.
  4. The pastor will meet with each Guiding Team member individually to complete the GT Interviews. The purpose of the GT interviews is to:
  5. Inform your own learning by listening for what the GT is learning and how that might shape your actions as clergy.
  6. Assess how to best support and encourage your GT
  7. Discern the leadership challenges you are dealing with
  8. Clergy do not:
  9. Participate in regular GT meetings
  10. Take on any GT work
  11. Provide coaching for the GT
  12. The GT is generally not composed of the same people as the vestry. Usually it consists of lay people not currently serving on vestry. Vestry has its own important work to do and doesn’t have time to focus on Guiding Team work. There may, however, be one or two vestry members on the team.
  13. Reports to the vestry so that the vestry knows what’s happening.
  14. Comprised of 5-7 people depending on church size (3-4 for smaller member congregations).
  15. Characteristics of members:
  1. Deep, genuine commitment to the church and its people
  1. Support the leadership and this process.
  2. Catching a vision for joining with God in the local.
  3. Are able to realistically design, implement, and manage processes.
  4. Good relational skills
  5. Sense of how to effectively communicate across the church.
  6. Aware of opportunities and barriers to change
  7. Able to effectively bridge differences.

Interview Protocol with Guiding Team Members

Process

  • Schedule a 30-45 minute interview with each member of the Guiding Team in your congregation
  • Conduct the interviews in March-April time frame
  • Take extensive notes of each interview
  • Create a summary of your interviews in preparation for the next meeting of the CLC
  • Identify the key leadership issues you are facing in helping to introduce and provide leadership for this process for the GT, vestry, and congregation.
  • Before the next meeting, send summary report and key issues you have identified to the Clergy Learning Community facilitator in preparation for Step 2

Interview Questions

  1. Tell me a bit about what you are experiencing in your work on the Guiding Team as you engage this process. What are the most important things you are learning?
  1. What is your vision or hope for how our congregation’s participation in this process might help change and transform our congregation?
  1. What are the biggest challenges or obstacles which you believe the Guiding Team will face in our congregation and in our larger community in carrying out this work?
  1. What are the primary things that are needed from or required of me and our vestry’s leadership if the Guiding Team is going to be successful in this transformation work?
  1. What are the primary things that are needed from or required of our congregation’s leadership if the Guiding Team is going to be successful in this transformation work?
  1. What have we not talked about which would be helpful for me to know as it relates to our congregation’s participation in Living Local: Joining God?

Interview Worksheets

(This is intended to be a worksheet on which to take notes. Please make a separate copy for each interview)

Name of Guiding Team Member: ______

  1. Tell me a bit about what you are experiencing in your work on the Guiding Team as you engage this process. What are the most important things you are learning?
  1. What is your vision or hope for how our congregation’s participation in this process might help change and transform our congregation?
  1. What are the biggest challenges or obstacles which you believe the Guiding Team will face in our congregation and in our larger community in carrying out this work?
  1. What are the primary things that are needed from or required of our congregation if the Guiding Team is going to be successful in this transformation work?
  1. What are the primary things that are needed from or required of me and our vestry’s leadershipif the Guiding Team is going to be successful in this transformation work?
  1. What have we not talked about which would be helpful for me to know as it relates to our congregation’s participation in Living Local: Joining God?

Neighborhood Walks or Observation/Listening Locations

In this phase of Living Local: Joining God, your GT will be exploring the practice of Listening to Learn. Your GT will be asked to lead various activities that invite people in your congregation to observe and listen to your neighborhood and/or community in some intentional ways. It will be important for you to also be listening to your neighborhood and/or community in order to support their work.

Take some time to go for some walks in your neighborhood or locate yourself in a public spaceto observe and listen. As you engage in this work, consider the following questions:

  • Who is out and about?
  • What are people engaged in doing and/or how do they interact with one another?
  • Are there things that surprise you?
  • What raises your curiosity?
  • What creates concern or questions?
  • What, if anything, catches your attention in a way that you want to ask more questions or get more information?

Resources

Books:

People of the Way, Dwight Zscheile, CPI, 2012

The Agile Church, Dwight Zscheile, Morehouse, 2014

The Ministry of the Missional Church, Craig Van Gelder, Baker, 2007

Joining God, Remaking the Church, Changing the World,Alan J. Roxburgh, CPI, 2015

Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood, Alan J. Roxburgh, Baker, 2009

Doing Local Theology: A Guide for Artisans of a New Humanity, Clemens Sedmak, Orbis Books, 2002

Videos:

Joining God in the Local: What We Do (Alan Roxburgh)

…and others on TMN’s Vimeo Channel:

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